In her current role, Vanessa works as an Asset Manager for Stanhope Plc, a property developer and investor who deliver large scale commercial and mixed use construction projects across the UK.
Prior to joining Stanhope Vanessa spent 8 years specialising in property management. After a very brief stint in rural surveying and a whirlwind 18 months working in the property department at EasyJet, she transitioned to commercial surveying and exchanged Stelios for the bright lights of London. There she found her niche specialising in high end commercial portfolios, stand alone assets and mixed use estates working for both Workman LLP and subsequently Savills as an Associate Director.
With a degree in music and no connections to the surveying world, her first few years working in property were particularly challenging. The difficulty of building a network from scratch and the lack of access to senior female leadership was the inspiration behind Mentoring Circle, an initiative that Vanessa founded to provide free mentoring for junior women in the industry from women in senior leadership roles.
“I’ve worked with some really brilliant young women throughout my career who struggle to promote themselves leading to a lack of diversity at senior leadership level. I wanted to create an accessible platform for young women to connect with inspirational female leaders within the property industry at this key early stage of their career journey”.
Her ambition is to grow the programme in order to secure mentorship for any young woman working in the industry who isn’t already part of a structured training scheme.
Outside of work Vanessa is an aunty to two young rascals and when not chasing them around the garden with water pistols she enjoys sampling the culinary delights of North London where she lives. She also enjoys running, squash and playing her viola very out of tune for Central London Orchestra who haven’t had the heart yet to kick her out.
